The present invention relates to mailing containers and envelopes.
Various envelopes have been proposed for easy opening that use perforation lines, tear strips or tear strings.
U.S. Pat. No. 211,725 (to Foster) describes an envelope having perforation lines near the end of the envelope to form a strip that is torn off to open the envelope. To avoid tearing the contents of the envelope when opening the envelope, the perforation lines must be near an end of the envelope. The portion of the envelope that is to be pulled is difficult to grasp with a sufficient grip when tearing the envelope along the perforation line.
U.S. Pat. No. 754,201 (to Davalos) describes an envelope having a tear strip extending on the length of the closure flap with a cut on the side of the tear-strip. A pair of notches may be formed to produce a tongue on the tear-strip that facilitates grasping the tear-strip. However, the tear strip is difficult to grasp without a tool or letter opener to pull the pull tab away from the envelope.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,896,425 (to Scarfi) also describes an envelope that includes an opening string that is pulled to open the envelope without using a tool or letter opener. The ends of the opening strings extend beyond the ends of the envelope. However, these strings can damage automated letter processing equipment or may be inadvertently pulled to open the envelope.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,907 (to McFarland) describes an envelope having a pull tab formed with a tape. Lines of weakness are disposed on either one side or both sides of the tape. The envelope is opened by pulling the pull tab along with the tape. The pull tab requires the manufacture and use of a tape formed of multiple layers. Thus, the manufacturing of the envelope with the tape is complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,463 (to Christiansen et al.) describes an envelope with a self-contained envelope opening strip. A pull tab is formed by severing one end of the envelope in alignment with the perforations. However, the pull tab is difficult to grasp without a tool or letter opener to pull the pull tab away from the envelope.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,025 (to Hiersteiner et al.) describes an envelope that includes a closure flap with a tear perforation line. The closure flap has an adhesive strip between the tear perforation line and the edge of the closure flap. The back panel has an adhesive strip that engages the adhesive strip on the closure flap when the envelope is sealed. The adhesive strips are formed of a material that seals but permits separation without damage to the paper. The sealing of the envelope lacks security integrity because of the unsealable nature of the adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,035 (to Kim) is directed to an envelope including a pull tab having a thread on an inside surface of the envelope and non-tearable strips disposed on opposite sides of and parallel to the thread and attached to an outside surface of the envelope. The pull tab and thread are pulled away from the envelope along a tear line between the non-tearable strips. However, the adhesive sealing the pull tab releasably seals the pull tab to the envelope. Thus, the envelope requires two types of adhesives: one to seal the envelope, and other for the pull tab.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,807 (to Giger) describes a tear-strip opening envelope that includes a tear-strip on each of two panels that enclose the envelope. Upon sealing of the envelope, the two-strips overly each other to create a single multi-ply tear strip assembly for opening the envelope by pulling the single multi-ply tear strip assembly. This envelope requires two adhesive strips that must be carefully aligned when the envelope is sealed to create the multi-ply tear strip.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,713 (to Stude) describes an easy open envelope that includes a sealing flap with a corner section with indicia where to pull the corner section. The sealing flap also has an adhesive material that extends along the sealing flap, but does not extend into the corner section. When sealed, the corner section does not adhere to the panel, and thus can be lifted and torn along a perforated line to allow a finger or tool to be inserted under the sealing flap so that the sealing flap can be torn. However, the finger or tool can damage the contents of the envelope.
Various reusable envelopes have been proposed.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,896,425 (to Scarfi) describes an envelope that may be used more than once for mailing. The envelope includes a closure flap comprising two strips, a main closure strip, which has its obverse surface treated with glue, and an auxiliary closure flap continuing therefrom. The auxiliary flap is folded over to lie flat upon the main flap but does not adhere to the glued surface of the latter. The main closure strip must be sealed first in order for the envelope to be resealable. Accordingly, an incorrect order of sealing prevents the envelope from being used more than once.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,713 (to Stude) describes an easy open resealable envelope (see, e.g., FIGS. 5 and 6). The front panel of the resealable envelope extends above the back panel, and includes a closure flap having two parallel adhesive regions that do not extend into a corner region for easy opening as described above. The upper adhesive region is used to seal the envelope for the first sealing, and the envelope is opened using the corner region to tear the closure flap. The lower adhesive region is used to seal the envelope for the second sealing. The upper adhesive must be used first for sealing the envelope. Otherwise, using the lower adhesive first to seal the envelope prevents the envelope from being used more than once. Accordingly, an incorrect order of sealing prevents the envelope from being used more than once. Also folding the closure flap at the perforation line above the lower adhesive region leaves a gap between the front panel and the closure flap that could allow access into the envelope or allow small items to fall out of the envelope.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,328 (to Roccaforte et al.) describes a resealable envelope that includes a closure flap having two parallel adhesive seal strips and two tear opening strips. The envelope is sealed by using one adhesive seal strip and opened using one tear opening strip. The envelope is resealed by using the other adhesive seal strip and opened using the other tear opening strip. However, the correct adhesive seal must be used first for the envelope to be resealable. Accordingly, an incorrect order of sealing prevents the envelope from being used more than once.